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What the fuck happened? I'm an Arsenal fan so I'm obviously pleased but it's also kind of sad. They've looked so much better than us all season but have now done what everyone said they would - they've choked. When we couldn't stop drawing they should have put it beyond us but instead they collapsed. I appreciate that it's far from over, but I reckon Everton are more likely to get 5th now than Villa are to get 4th.

The funny thing is, for all the supposed tightness and closeness of this season the top four looks like it'll be the same as every year and the bottom three could conceivably be Hull, Stoke and West Brom. Does this season, more than any, show the dominance of the top four in that three of them can have periods where they're playing dreadfully and yet still they get the Cl spots?

"The Premier League table has an eerily familiar look, doesn't it? In amongst the excitement of Liverpool's emphatic victory at Old Trafford and the discovery of stardust in the boots of Andrey Arshavin, this was the weekend when Aston Villa finally dipped out of the top four. There can't be many neutral observers who haven't warmed to the pace and determination of Martin O'Neill's exciting young side, which is why it's so sad to see that a significant section of their own fans have turned on them.

Boos rang out at Villa Park at the end of Sunday's defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, a thoroughly unfair response to an exhausted team hitting the wall in a campaign that began in July. Worse still was the ironic applause that greeted the withdrawal of Gabriel Agbonlahor. The youngster has dipped noticeably of late, with just one goal in his last 12 league games, but he's still one of the most exciting of the English prospects. Those supporters who leapt to their feet, gleefully celebrating his substitution should have a little think about how they'd react if he decided to leave in the summer. After this show of 'support', you could hardly blame him.

Villa haven't fallen away because of Agbonlahor, or any other player. They've been felled, as many expected, because of a lack of squad depth. Martin O'Neill has used just 24 players this season, the first in Premier League history to allow 18 man matchday squads. By contrast, Manchester United have named 33, Chelsea 32, Liverpool, who sagged noticeably as the fixtures came thick and fast through the winter, just 27 and Arsenal, 30. The back four that was breached twice by Spurs at the weekend consisted of a midfielder at right-back, a right back at left-back, another one at centre back and Zat Knight. No wonder Brad Friedel has lost his hair.

Villa fans, and it's not all of them, just a vocal section, have no right to react in this way. O'Neill inherited a squad who only narrowly avoided relegation in 2006. With the generous support of the dignified and discreet Randy Lerner, he has set down the foundations for the future of the club, finishing 11th in his first season, 6th in his second and now pushing all the way for the top four in only his third year. Another wave of young talent is waiting in the shadows, including the excellent Brad Guzan and the exciting Nathan Delfouneso. Middlesbrough, who appointed Gareth Southgate three years ago, would kill for this kind of progress, or indeed for any kind of progress.

Football fans have always been impatient for success, but there is a fine line between having high expectations and making self-destructive demands. There's nothing wrong with having a moan. The problem comes when the people concerned actually listen. Ask the Charlton fans who wanted Alan Curbishley to quit because he couldn't deliver European football. They'll be playing Southend in League One next year. The Newcastle fans who chanted 'Robson Out' at the board of directors after their UEFA Cup exit to Marseille. They ended up with Graeme Souness.

Those Aston Villa supporters who think that there is something unacceptable about a valiant attempt to reach the Champions League, or that the fading efforts of a tired youngster are worth jeering, need to reassess their own contribution to the cause. The Premier League has a nasty habit of dealing out reality checks to the ungrateful."

It's hard to picture them dramatically turning it round in those games and if they don't they'll then be 9 games without a win which could make it psychologically tough for 'em/. Arsenal still have a couple of tough fixtures against Chelsea and (again) Man Utd but look like they've hit form at the right time.

Villa have got time to turn it round but, based on their and Arsenal's current form, I'd be a bit surprised if they did.

But no matter they've really progressed this season. Even if they end up down in sixth again there's still no question they've really come on.

and anyone with half a brain predicted this all along. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when people were not only saying they'd get 4th, but 3rd... even 2nd ffs! People get carried away when a team is over performing, they were bound to hit a bad spell of results with such a small squad. It'll be sad if they finish 5th and it's not recognised as the great season it most certainly has been, for Villa and Martin O'Neill.

The praise they were getting a few months ago was just as ridiculous as the boos they're getting from a minority now. I remember saying on here at the turn of the year I was genuinely amazed at how much people were raving about them, I just could not see that they were that good- pundits saying "we'll have to reassess the way we look at the league now, it's now longer just a big 4 now Villa are involved" and all that. Bonkers. A solid top 6/7 side playing well, having a good run of form and a bit of luck at key moments in certain games and a side ready to consistently challenge the top 4 are a world away from each other- speaking as a fan of a side who have managed 4th, 6th and 5th placed finishes in the past 4 seasons I know this only too well, we're still miles away from them. In many ways their season reminds me of our 02/03 season- small squad, a mix of great young talent and certain players having the season of their life, excellent run of form early on including sneaking a load of away wins, some fortunately; we hit 4th place the start of March and proceeded to absolutely fall over the line, 11 points from the final 10 games. Villa are better than we were then, in a better position to build in the summer than we were, will still qualify for Europe (we didn't) and any fan having a real go at them now is daft. They've made a huge fuck up with the cups though, momentum is everything.